Someone spent 4 months watching all 28 seasons of The Simpsons to make chart outlining show's decline
A man spent four months catching up every episode of each of The Simpsons' 28 seasons in order to chart what he perceives as the show's decline in quality.
British producer and The Simpsons fan Sol Harris (27) shared his chart on social media and many fans of the show agree with his analysis which charts 'the golden years' from seasons three to eight and then a gradual decline to the present day and season 28.
The first series of The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening, debuted in December 1989 making it the longest-running American sitcom.
Despite consistent ratings for ABC, it has been criticised in recent years for a perceived decline in quality.
Harris rated each episode out of ten and based his chart numbers on season averages from those individual episode ratings. Initially he tried to chart each individual episode but said the chart was "unreadable".
He pinpoints season six as the best season ever after which it has declined to the present season, punctuated by a high point around the release of The Simpsons Movie around season 18.
He makes observations about particular episodes, singling out Dental Plan! and Marge Goes to Jail as high points and the 90s episodes in which Home and Marge grew up in the 90s as a low point.
He marks November 11 2011 as "the definitive moment when the show went from 'bad Simpsons' to 'bad television" and adds, "The show makes fun of its decline with dreadful pitches for future episodes including Moe getting a cell phone, Bart owning a bear, and Selma marrying Grampa".
I re-watched The Simpsons and charted its decline.
— Island of Lost Sols (@solmaquina) June 23, 2017
(Based on my episode ratings out of 10). pic.twitter.com/JFkvVlFiOB
Speaking to fellow fans on Twitter, he said, "The show's been genuinely bad for a decade" but added, "I still consider The Simpsons to be a 10/10 show despite the last decade and a half".
He rated Lisa goes Gaga a 2/10 and said he has "yet to see an episode bad enough to warrant a 1/10 but I think they'll get there".
However, he still has love for the show, and rated the following episodes 10/10:
Homer the Heretic
Marge Cs the Monorail
Last Exit to Springfield
Cape Fearea
Treehouse of Horror IV
Bart of Darkness
Treehouse of HOrror V
Homer Badman
Homer the Great
Bart's Comet
Homie the Clown
Bart vs Australia
Lemon of Troy
Who Shot Mr Burns? (Parts 1 and 2)
Bart Sells His Soul
Bart on the Road
You Only Live Twice
Brother from Another Series
In Marge We Trust
Sol Harris hosts a movie podcast where he and two friends discuss a film and pitch their own dieas for sequels. You can check it out HERE
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